Introduction: Shaped by the e-commerce trend, more and more “husband and wife teams” have appeared in Humen. Such a simple organizational form is both efficient and flexible, and has become an indispensable part of the local clothing industry ecology.
Qin Minghao, the person in charge of a clothing company, said that it is becoming increasingly difficult to recruit experienced lathe workers. Workers born in the 1970s in Humen Garment Processing Factory have become the main force of this group.
Walking on Botou New District Street, Boyong Community, Humen Town, Dongguan City, what comes into view are rows of private houses, filled with cloth Vehicles pass through it. In this small urban village, many large and small clothing processing factories are hidden here. Walking in the narrow alley, the sound of workers operating machines came from all directions, and there were busy scenes everywhere.
Pattern making, fabric shrinking, cutting, turning, tailing…all the steps a piece of clothing goes through from design to delivery can be found here at the corresponding processing factory. It’s more like a “small workshop” than a factory. A couple or a few fellow villagers rent a private house and buy a few parking spaces, and it becomes an office space and a place to relax.
Humen is a well-known women’s fashion capital in China, and Botou is one of the main gathering places for small clothing processing factories in Humen. After long-term infiltration, the clothing industry here has gradually formed a tight network with clear division of labor and cooperation. And the practitioners who are involved in it, although they are affected by the external environment from time to time, they also adhere to their inherent philosophy of survival.
Statistical data shows that from January to February, the industrial added value of my country’s textile enterprises above designated size increased by 33.1% year-on-year, and the growth rate increased by 58.7 percentage points compared with the same period last year. From January to February, my country’s textile and apparel exports amounted to US$46.1 billion, a year-on-year increase of 55.0%.
Behind the macroeconomic data are living individuals. Since the beginning of the new year, these small processing factories in Humen Botou have begun to rush to process the influx of orders. The busy scene in front of us is a vivid epitome of the rebound in foreign trade of the garment industry and the recovery of domestic consumption.
“Many factories no longer accept orders”
Shaped by the e-commerce trend, more and more More and more “husband and wife teams” are appearing in Humen. Such a simple organizational form is both efficient and flexible, and has become an indispensable part of the local clothing industry ecology.
Luo Yu is the owner of a women’s clothing online store. In addition to designing her own styles, she also controls the production process. Since the products are aimed at a niche group, Luo Yu’s store orders have always been very small. A factory that we have cooperated with for a long time has seen a huge increase in orders this year and has no time to take care of small customers like Luo Yu. In desperation, she had to come to Humen in person to look for cooperative factories again.
On the morning of April 6, the first day after the Qingming Festival holiday, Luo Yu came to Humen Blog with clothes to be patterned. Her idea is that as long as the price is in place, the orders can be distributed quickly. But after a lap, the situation was not optimistic. After learning about it, she found that “due to too many orders, many factories stopped accepting orders.”
Humen blog, many clothing processing factories are hidden here
It has been 20 years since Zhou Xinguo opened a garment factory in Botou, Humen. Now, he rents the ground floor of a private house and has more than 20 workers. This is more like a small clothing workshop than a factory. Such workshops are a common form of production organization here.
Luo Yu wanted to cooperate with Zhou Xinguo, so she took out the clothes and gave them to him. Zhou Xinguo took the clothes, laid them flat on the table, and studied the workmanship carefully.
“How much processing fee are you willing to pay? The orders are all booked now, and we can’t handle it now.” After 20 years in business, the shrewd Zhou Xinguo emphasized that the orders have been scheduled. Full, I also want to test whether the customer can give me a high price.
After some negotiation, Zhou Xinguo gave up the order. “The order quantity is too small. The workers have just made a few pieces to practice their skills, and there are not many clothes left.”
On the first floor of another private house, three people in their 40s were The woman is rushing to make a batch of clothes. Cao Xuehua is the owner of this small processing factory. In addition to being responsible for handling business, she also has to do the lathe work herself. Cao Xuehua has been in the clothing business in Guangzhou for more than 10 years. The year before last, she came to Humen Botou with her relatives to start a new business.
This year, many factory owners in Botou, like Cao Xuehua, have received a large number of foreign trade orders, some of which often amount to thousands of pieces. In addition, with the recovery of domestic consumption, orders from e-commerce have also increased significantly, which has forced downstream processing plants to work overtime to rush to produce orders.
“This year, merchants’ stocking time is obviously earlier than in previous years. When we come back after the new year, we will start to be busy.” Cao Xuehua said.
“Lao Zhang, we have some goods! Come down and take a look.” Cao Xuehua shouted towards a private house opposite. Then, a middle-aged man stuck his head out of the window and said, “Okay, I’ll be down right away.”
A few minutes later, a middle-aged man wearing a blue T-shirt appeared The man comes. His name is Zhang Yuhang, he is 45 years old and has been working in Humen Botou for more than 20 years. Today, almost his entire family makes a living here. The small workshop run by Zhang Yuhang and his wife is on the third floor of a private house. And his brother’s small workshop��is also nearby.
In fact, under the influence of the e-commerce trend, more and more “husband and wife teams” have appeared in Humen. Such a simple organizational form is both efficient and flexible, and has become an indispensable part of the local clothing industry ecology.
When a larger garment processing factory receives an order, if it has to meet the deadline, it will often subcontract the order. At this time, a “husband and wife team” like Zhang Yuhang There is business to be done.
After the Spring Festival, Zhang Yuhang and his wife quickly received orders for distribution from several factories. They work almost 10 hours a day just to earn more money and buy the next house for their children.
It is becoming increasingly difficult to recruit workers
“A skilled lathe worker can earn an average of more than 8,000 yuan per month, but even with this salary, it is difficult to recruit people.”
At noon, Humen Bo Garment processing factories of all sizes have temporarily stopped being busy. It’s lunch time, which is also a rare break for workers during the day.
Soon, the small restaurant in Humen Botou was filled with customers, and some workers were eating together in twos and threes, squatting on the ground or sitting on the stone steps. Some couples cook at home and rent a small private house. This is both an office space and a place where you live.
On the afternoon of April 6, a reporter from the 21st Century Business Herald discovered at Humen Blog that recruitment information from garment factories could be seen almost everywhere, and the bulletin board was filled with colorful recruitment notices. .
The bulletin board is filled with colorful recruitment notices
On the recruitment notices, it can be seen that some garment factories are eager to recruit workers. Feeling. In order to recruit suitable workers, the factory also offers attractive conditions. “Our factory has a lot of goods, high unit prices, no off-season throughout the year, and no pressure on wages.” A factory said in a recruitment notice.
Qin Minghao is the person in charge of a clothing company. Since the beginning of the new year, recruiting has become his biggest headache. “It is getting more and more difficult to recruit experienced lathe workers now, and young people are basically unwilling to work in this industry.”
Qin Minghao found that workers in the Humen Garment Processing Factory were born in the 1970s. To become the main force of this group, those born in the 1985s and 1990s account for a very small proportion, while those born in the 2000s will hardly choose to enter this industry.
At the beginning of this year, Qin Minghao’s factory has been operating at full capacity to cope with the strong demand for orders. However, what bothered him was that despite the huge increase in orders, he once faced the dilemma of having no one to fulfill his duties.
“According to the current order volume, a skilled lathe worker can earn more than 8,000 yuan per month on average, but even with this salary, it is difficult to recruit people.” Qin Minghao said.
In desperation, Qin Minghao outsourced many of this year’s orders to others, and Humen Botou became the largest recipient. In fact, many factory orders in Humen are outsourced to “husband and wife teams” here.
Qin Minghao found that after years of exploration, the division of labor and collaboration in Humen’s garment industry has become increasingly tight. “With orders, this strict collaboration mechanism will respond quickly. Everyone can get a share of it.”
The industry is gradually moving inland
As these industrial workers return home one after another, the garment industry in the Pearl River Delta region is also accelerating its transfer to inland areas, with Jiangxi, Hunan and other provinces becoming the recipients of industrial transfer.
At 7pm, night falls gradually in Humen, and the street lights are turned on one after another. After a simple dinner, Zhang Yuhang and his wife began to work hard again.
Last year, the COVID-19 epidemic also disrupted the production rhythm of Humen Botou, and the clothing industry chain here also suffered an impact. Under the influence of the epidemic, orders from many small garment processing factories have shrunk. Some factories could not survive and had to close down.
Recalling the scene in the first half of last year, Zhang Yuhang still remembers it fresh. “At that time, the orders we got from the factory were very unstable, and there was often no goods to make. This year is different, the orders cannot be made at all.”
Humen boss, workers are rushing to make orders
Zhang Yuhang and his wife’s hometown is Ganzhou, Jiangxi Province. The fellow villagers who once came to work with them have returned to their hometown one after another in recent years. , which also gave Zhang Yuhang the idea of returning to his hometown. “I originally wanted to return to Jiangxi this year for development, because there are many garment factories there, and the wages are not much different from here.”
These industrial workers are returning one after another. Behind the rural areas, the garment industry in the Pearl River Delta region is also accelerating its transfer to inland areas, with Jiangxi, Hunan and other provinces becoming the recipients of industrial transfer.
Liu Yihua came to Humen to pan for gold in the 1990s and started his business here. After years of hard work, we now have our own women’s clothing brand.
In 2017, considering the rising labor costs in the Pearl River Delta region, Liu Yihua decided to return to his hometown to invest and moved the factory processing link to Jiangxi. Last year, even with the impact of the epidemic, Liu Yihua increased investment in Jiangxi, and the new factory will be officially put into production this year.
Liu Yihua’s factory is near Humen Botou. “More than ten years ago, this place was more lively, with large and small garment processing factories everywhere. Now some garment factories have After moving to inland areas, many workers also returned to their hometowns to find jobs.”
At 9 p.m., under the cover of darkness, the garment processing factory in Botou, Humen, was brightly lit and still It was a busy scene. Zhang Yuhang, his wife, and the lathes of several pieces of clothing still need to be completed. They need to complete this batch of clothes and hand them over to the customer within three days. Now he has no time to consider whether he should return to his hometown this year to develop.
With investment from Jiangxi, the new factory will be officially put into production this year.
Liu Yihua’s factory is near Humen Botou. “More than ten years ago, this place was more lively, with large and small garment processing factories everywhere. Now some garment factories have After moving to inland areas, many workers also returned to their hometowns to find jobs.”
At 9 p.m., under the cover of darkness, the garment processing factory in Botou, Humen, was brightly lit and still It was a busy scene. Zhang Yuhang, his wife, and the lathes of several pieces of clothing still need to be completed. They need to complete this batch of clothes and hand them over to the customer within three days. Now he has no time to consider whether he should return to his hometown this year to develop. </p
